Astor+Banks Fortitude Lite, the Ultimate Daily Wearer..for me anyways.

The Fortitude Lite from Chicago Based Micro/Independent brand, Astor & Banks is the latest iteration of the popular Fortitude Model. They took an already handsome model (the OG Fortitude) and made it more wearable.

Prior to this model, I have not owned a micro/independent branded watch. Frankly speaking the world of micros is a bit daunting and I wasn’t sure if it was the right way for me to expand my quite mainstream collection (Modern & Vintage Seikos, Tissot, Orient, G Shock etc).

Oh I am so glad I did.

I have been slowly moving towards the GADA (Go Anywhere Do Anything) watch territory, and the Astor+Banks Fortitude Lite stood out during my hunt for the elusive go anywhere do anything piece under a grand.

The Astor+Banks Fortitude Lite is a 38.5mm diameter watch with a lug to lug of 45.5mm and thickness of 10.9mm. For someone with a smallish wrist, these dimensions are perfect. The in-house regulated Miyota 9309 calibre (a fairly thin movement-no date) allows the watch to be thinner along with reduced antimagnetic properties from the original Fortitude (shaving some of the thickness off the case). With 200m WR and a screw down crown I’ve used the Fortitude Lite in water with no hesitation. The crystal is a flat sapphire with great AR coating that actually works well under the brightest sun (I’m looking at you Tissot/Hamilton with your subpar AR coating!!).

The bracelet goes from 20mm at the lugs and tapers down to 16mm before coming back up slightly at the clasp. The bracelet is fantastic, no hair pulling, etc and the vintage-inspired flat link adds to the clean aesthetic of the dial. My only complaint is the clasp…

The clasp feels like an after thought, its quite sharp at certain points and the smallish flip lock can be a bit cumbersome. However, it does not detract away from the watch too much. I have however seen better finished clasps on ali express homage pieces so I think Astor & Banks could do better in this regard.

On to the dial..the Polar White dial is simple yet striking. I would almost describe the white as a powdery white. The black outlined indices and handset contrast well with the dial. The red text “Fortitude” helps the dial move away from “too plain” and does just enough to offer a point of difference on the dial which is welcome. I have a Tissot Gentlemen Powermatic which I love but sometimes I wish it had just a bit of contrast and this red text on the Fortitude Lite’s dial is exactly what is needed in a simple GADA watch without making it too in your face.

The Astor+Banks Fortitude Lite keeps great time (shout out to the in-house regulation prior to shipping!) and from my own rough estimates is doing around +/- 5s/day. I have a watch 3 times the price with a really average +/- 30s/day timekeeping (I will let you guess which brand).

The watch wears fantastically well on the bracelet, leather or NATO. Truly looks at home with any of those straps.

So do I recommend you pick up the Astor+Banks Fortitude Lite? Yes, if you have a spare $650 USD and are looking to expand your horizons into some lesser known brands, go for it! Although it might be hard to get one right now as the order windows for the latest batch have closed…

This piece is definitely a keeper in my collection.